A person who enjoys the outdoors may backpack or canoe into a remote wilderness area and then camp overnight for one or more days. Wilderness camping requires that the person be self-sufficient since supplies are not readily available in the wilderness. In order to be self-sufficient the person must carry those articles necessary to sustain him or her during the camping outing. However, the number of articles that a person can comfortably carry into the wilderness area is typically limited by space as well as the carrying capacity of the camper. With weight limitations and space at a premium a camper may forego taking certain articles that provide comfort as well as other articles that provide convenience. In some cases a person may even forego taking articles for emergency use in favor of another type of article. In still other instances, a person may want to have a device available for both comfort and rescue. The invention described herein aids the person in selecting the articles to include in an outing without having to sacrifice safety or convenience as well as providing a compact rescue device that can be used in multiple instances and multiple locations.